Marine vessel propulsion device

Abstract

A marine vessel propulsion device having a metal component in contact with water. The marine vessel propulsion device includes an anticorrosive anode made of a metal material that is less corrosion-resistant than the metal component, is electrically connected to the metal component, and is disposed in contact with the water contacting the metal component, a primary reference electrode isolated from the metal component and the anticorrosive anode, and disposed in contact with the water contacting the metal component, and a potentiometer that detects a potential difference of the metal component or the anticorrosive anode with respect to the primary reference electrode.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2019-182279 filed on Oct. 2, 2019. The entire contents of this application are hereby incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention[0002]The present invention relates to a marine vessel propulsion device having a metal component in contact with water.2. Description of the Related Art[0003]US 2010 / 0252424 A1 discloses an anode metal (sacrificial anode) for an outboard motor engine. The anode metal is attached to a cylinder block, and is disposed in contact with cooling water in a water jacket (cooling water channel) provided in the cylinder block. The anode metal is made of a metal which is more liable to be ionized than the cylinder block and has a negative potential. This makes the anode metal more susceptible to corrosion than the cylinder block, thereby suppressing the corrosion of the cylinder block.[0004]As the a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009]In order to overcome the previously unrecognized and unsolved challenges described above, one preferred embodiment of the present invention provides a marine vessel propulsion device having a configuration which allows for easy and accurate prediction of the time for the replacement of an anticorrosive anode (anode metal).

[0034]The potentials of the metal component and the anticorrosive anode are influenced by the consumption degree of the anticorrosive anode. In contrast, the potentials of the primary reference electrode and the secondary reference electrode are not influenced by the consumption degree of the anticorrosive anode. On the other hand, the potential difference between the primary reference electrode and the secondary reference electrode is influenced by the water quality. Therefore, the potential difference between the primary reference electrode and the secondary reference electrode can be used as fundamental information for determination of the water quality. Therefore, the provision of the primary reference electrode and the secondary reference electrode makes it possible to perform not only the measurement for the determination of the time for the inspection and the replacement of the anticorrosive anode but also the measurement for the determination of the quality of the water, for example, around the marine vessel propulsion device.

Problems solved by technology

Therefore, it is not easy to predict the time for the replacement of the anode metal.

Therefore, time and costs are correspondingly required for the disassembling.

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